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Center for Trauma and the Community

History

History

The Georgetown Center for Trauma and the Community (CTC) was an interdisciplinary research center housed in the Department of Psychiatry, and focused on improving the mental health of low-income individuals and families in the Washington DC metropolitan area exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events, such as physical or sexual assault and abuse, life-threatening accidents, violent loss, war, and immigration-related trauma. Directed by Bonnie L. Green, PhD, it operated from 2004 – 2016, and was initially funded by a Developing Center grant from the NIMH to Dr. Green. Associate Directors were Mary Ann Dutton, PhD, Stacey Kaltman, PhD, community partner Maria Rosa Watson, DDS, DrPH, and colleagues from the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

The center was transitioned from active to inactive in 2016 due to expansion of other areas of scholarship within the department, and the ongoing work in trauma and mental health that continues with other partners and with other emphases. The CTC played an important role in developing and supporting infrastructure for many of the areas of research and scholarship in the department today.

Community Partners

Academic partners/collaborators from GUMC included Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Cell Biology, Medicine, Neurology, Psychology, Oncology, and the School of Nursing and Health Studies. To increase the adoption and sustainability of these interventions, trauma-related services were conceptualized and developed in close collaboration with community partners such as the Department of Health (Division of Maternal and Child Health) and Greater Baden Medical Services, Inc., both in Prince George’s County, MD; the Primary Care Coalition in Montgomery County, MD (PCC); and the DC Veteran’s Administration.

The overall work of the CTC was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, Georgetown University, and the Veteran’s Administration. The working partnerships and infrastructure capability fostered through the Center provided support to develop comprehensive mental health intervention programs for translation to settings serving low-income individuals in the greater Washington DC and other geographical areas.

Mission

The CTC had the goal of developing and testing culturally appropriate, innovative, and sustainable interventions to address trauma-related mental health needs of low-income and minority populations seen in safety net primary care settings. The CTC provided research training and mentoring, and maintained ongoing community partnerships to inform its direction and to implement collaborative research activities